Karimnagar, March 17: Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) district convener and former minister Captn. V Laxmikanta Rao warned the government that the demolition episode would repeat if they did not erect statues of Telangana icons on Tank Bund before reinstalling the vandalised ones.
About 16 statues of Telugu literati were vandalised on Tank Bund in Hyderabad during TJAC’s Million March on March 10.
Speaking to mediapersons at his residence here today, the TRS leader demanded that names of all parks, buildings and historical places identified after Seemandhra leaders in Hyderabad should be changed and renamed after Telangana leaders.
He said that no Telangana activist was involved in the demolition episode. “Police themselves vandalised the statues and put the blame on T activists,” Rao said and alleged that it was a ploy of the government to dilute Telangana movement. Laxmikanta Rao faulted the government for sanctioning Rs 80 crore towards reinstallation of statues on Tank Bund while failing to release scholarships for students and not caring to pay ex gratia to families of Telangana martyrs.
Reminding that the government had agreed to install the statue of tribal leader Komaram Bheem, who fought for the liberation of Hyderabad state, on Tank Bund long back, he criticised it for not releasing even a rupee for it so far.
He demanded that the Congress should declare its stand on Telangana soon. Else, he warned that people of the region will make the life of T Congress leaders miserable. He suggested that T Congress leaders should support and cooperate with the TJAC in its programmes for achieving statehood to the region. He thanked yoga guru Baba Ramdev for supporting T.
–Agencies